Inquiry-based learning: Emirati university students choose WhatsApp for collaboration

Robyn Albers (Zayed University, UAE)
Christina J. Davison (Zayed University, UAE)
Bradley Johnson (Simon Fraser University, Canada)

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives

ISSN: 2077-5504

Article publication date: 1 December 2017

Issue publication date: 1 December 2017

410
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Abstract

Considerable research has shown the value of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) regarding student engagement and motivation, depth of learning, and cognitive flexibility. Student collaboration is one component of this approach, since students must communicate and work together inside and outside of class time when engaging with an IBL project. Choosing a mobile learning tool can benefit student collaboration in so far as the tool enables anytime/anywhere collaborative learning. This study looked at how 118 Emirati undergraduate students in a government-sponsored university in the United Arab Emirates chose to collaborate in an IBL semester-long assignment. Unlike some approaches that dictate the technology selection to students (Barczyk & Duncan, 2013; Prescott, Wilson & Becket, 2013), in this project course instructors gave the students autonomy to choose the best mobile learning tools for their group. The study used a mixed-methods approach to collect data on which tools students perceived as best for IBL. Participants were surveyed three times about which tool they preferred for university work: a pre-project survey, a mid-project survey, and post-project survey. Results show that students changed their preferred tool to WhatsApp over the course of the semester. A focus group with each course section provided qualitative data as to why students preferred WhatsApp. The students also delivered poster presentations as to how WhatsApp helped them complete their community-based IBL projects. This study will show how WhatsApp can be a successful mobile learning tool for student collaboration in IBL.

Citation

Albers, R., Davison, C.J. and Johnson, B. (2017), "Inquiry-based learning: Emirati university students choose WhatsApp for collaboration", Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 37-53. https://doi.org/10.18538/lthe.v14.n2.275

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017 Robyn Albers, Christina J. Davison and Bradley Johnson

License

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode


Acknowledgements

Publisher's note: The Publisher would like to inform the reader that the article “Inquiry-based learning: Emirati university students choose WhatsApp for collaboration” has changed pagination. Previous pagination was pp. 1-17. The updated pagination for the article is now pp. 37-53. The Publisher apologises for any inconvenience caused.

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